July 30 2009

We went to Bath today! It was so cool! The town was fun but the Roman baths were even cooler! They date back to 76 AD! Yeah, old! An audio guide came with admission to Bath and that was very interesting! I had done a report on it in elementary some time and had forgotten most of what I learned so it was so fun to have all that come back to me and to actually be there! It is so interesting what they were used for! They started out in a changing room then moved on to another room where they servants would rub oils and fragrances all over them. They then made their way to a room where the floor was raised up on stacks of bricks and they would blow hot hair from a furnace through the stacks so it heated the floor. They said that the floor would be so hot that if they didn’t have sandals on it would burn their feet. So they would pour water on the floor to create a steam room. After they were all sweated out they moved on to another room where their servants would take a sharp, blade-like thing and scrape their skin to get off any dead skin, dirt, sweat, and hair. Then they would take a dip in a cold water bath for a bit. After that they moved on to the central bath. This is the biggest of all of them. The water comes in from a natural spring called the Sacred Spring. So it’s a nice temperature! The central bath was pretty much just a place to socialize and do business. One interesting thing, the emperor was asked why he bathed once a day and his reply was because he didn’t have time to bathe more than once a day! It was that important to them. The Sacred Spring I mentioned is a natural hot spring that they built a big bath around. They call it the Sacred Spring because they thought it to be a gift from the Gods. People would actually throw prayers and curses into it. There was also a church there that they called the Tholos. So it seems as though they tried to combine their social lives and business with their religion. I found that very interesting. So yeah, there’s a little history lesson for you. It was so cool to be there! On the way back Erica, Jeanette, and I stopped at the grocery store and on our way back to our flat we got on train going the wrong direction but the next stop was the last one for that train so it was ok. But when we got to the next stop the train conductor person got on the speaker and said that it was the last stop and to make sure that you have your personal belongings – your luggage, your laptops, your loved ones (said in a “romantic” voice), your lunch boxes, your rubbish. It was so funny! Then at the end of his announcement he said, remember to keep smiling, a smile is worth nothing until you give it away. So remember to keep smiling!